St. Landry democrat., 1887-07-30
His arms of sympathy to press the whole
world to His loving heart.

But, | remark again, that the religious
discourse of the future will be short.
Condensation is demanded by the age in
which we live. No more need of long
introductions and long applications, and
so many divisions to a discourse that it
may be said TO be hydra headed. In
other days men got all their information
from the pulpit. There were few books
and there were no newspapers, and there
was little travel from place to place, and
people would sit and listen two and
a-half hours to religious dis
course, and "seventeenth1y" would
find them fresh and clipper. In those
days there was enough time for
a man to take an hour to
warm himself up to the subject and an
hour to cool off. But what was neces-
sity then is superfuity now. Congress
cations are full of knowledge from books,
from newspapers, from rapid and con-
tinuous REORGANIZATION, and long
disquisitions of what they know already
will not be abided. If religious teacher
cannot compress what he wishes to say
to the people in the space of forty five
minutes, better adjourn it to some her
day.
The trouble is we preach audiences
into a Christian frame, and then we
preach them out of it. We forget that
every auditor has so much capacity of
attention, and when that is exhausted
he is restless That accident on the
Long Island railroad some years ago
came from the fact that the brakes were
out of order, and when they wanted to
stop the train they could not stop, and
hence the casualty was terrific. In all
religious discourse we want locomotive
power and propulsion. We want at the
same time stout brakes to let down at
the right instant 1t is a dismal thing
after a nearer has comprehended the
whole subject to hear man say: mo 7
to recapitulate," and "a few words by
way of application" and "once more"
and FINALLY" and now to conclude"
Paul preached until midnight, and
Eutychus got sound asleep and fell out
of window and broke mis- neck: Some
would say: Good for him" would
rather be sympathetic like Paul and re-
suscitate him. That accident is often
quoted now in religious circles as a
warning against somnolence in church.
1t is just as much warning to ministers
against prolixity. Eutychus was wrong
in his somnolence, but Paul made mis-
take when he kept on until midnight.
He ought to have stopped at eleven
o'clock, and there would have been no
accident. IfPaul might have gone on to
too great length, let all those of us who
are now preaching the Gospel remember
that there is limit to religious dis
course, or ought to be, and that in our
time we have no apostolic power of
miracles. i
Napoleon in an address of seven minutes
thrilled his army, and thrilled Europe.
Christ's Sermon on the Mount-the model
sermon-was less than eighteen minutes
long at ordinary mode of delivery. 1t is
no electricity scattered all over the sky
that strikes, but electricity gathered into
thunderbolt and hurled, and it is not
religious truth scattered over spread out
over vast reach of time, but religious
truth projected in compact form that
flashes light upon the soul and rives its
indifference.
When the religious discourse of the
future arrives in this land and in the
Christian church, the discourse which is
to arouse the world and startle the
nations, and usher in the kingdom, it
will be brief discourse. Hear it all
theological students, all We just entering
upon religious work, all We men and
women who in Sabbath schools and
other departments are toiling for Christ
and the salvation of immortals. Brevity!
Brevity!
But remark, also, that the religious
discourse of the future of which l speak
will be popular discourse. There are
those in these times who speak of pop
ular sermon as though there must be
something wrong about it. AS these
critics are dull themselves the world gets
the impression that a sermon is good in
proportion as it is stupid. Christ was
the most popular preacher the world
ever saw, and considering the small num-
Der of the worlds population had the
largest audiences ever gathered. He
never preached anywhere without max
ing great sensation. People rushed
out in the wilderness to hear him, reck-
less of their physical necess ties. So
great was their anxiety to hear Christ
that, taking no food with them, they
would have tainted and starved had not
Christ performed miracle and fed them.
Why did so many people take the
truth at Christ's hands? Because they
all understood it. He illustrated his
subject by a hen and her chickens, by
bushel measure, by handful of salt, by
a birds flight, and by lily's aroma. All
the people knew what He meant and they
focked to Him. And when the religious
discourse of the future appears, it will
not be Princetonion, not Rochesterian,
not Andoverian, not Middletonian, but
Olivetic-plain, practical, unique, earn
est, comprehensive of all the woes, wants,
sins, sorrows and necessities of an audi
tory.
But when that exhortation or dis
course does come there will be thou
sand cleaning scimetars to charge on
it. There are in so many theological
seminaries professors telling young men
how to preach, themselves not knowing
how, and am told that if a young man
in some of our theological seminaries
says anything quaint or thrilling or
unique, faculty and students fly at him
and set him right, and straighten him
out, and smooth him down, and chop him
off, until he says everything just as
everybody else says it.
Oh, when the future religious discourse
Of the Christian church arrives, all the
churches of Christ in our great cities will
be thronged. The world wants spiritual
help. All who have buried their dead
want comfort. All know themselves to
be mortal and to be immortal, and they